Does Medicine Discourage Gay Doctors?

[janey243]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/when-the-doctor-cant-say-hes-gay/

"Dr. Schuster describes being a medical student at Harvard in the 1980s, searching for guidance at a time when discussions on gay health were sandwiched between lectures on prostitutes and drug addicts. He hears about high-ranking medical school faculty members who actively block job or residency applicants they suspect to be gay. Another gay man, a law student he happens to know, is trotted into one of his medical school lectures as "a real live one" who would "tell us what it was like." One of the few open faculty members finally advises him to remain closeted until after at least his first semester grades. That way, she explains, the school won't be able to trump up academic charges as a reason for expelling him."

Also relevant:

"Medical Schools Neglect Gay and Gender Issues"
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/medical-schools-teach-little-about-gay-health-issues/

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[Doctor Strange]

I stopped reading after the guy described the amount of diuretic as "homosexual." WHO DOES THAT???

 

[kami333]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/when-the-doctor-cant-say-hes-gay/

"Dr. Schuster describes being a medical student at Harvard in the 1980s, searching for guidance at a time when discussions on gay health were sandwiched between lectures on prostitutes and drug addicts. He hears about high-ranking medical school faculty members who actively block job or residency applicants they suspect to be gay. Another gay man, a law student he happens to know, is trotted into one of his medical school lectures as "a real live one" who would "tell us what it was like." One of the few open faculty members finally advises him to remain closeted until after at least his first semester grades. That way, she explains, the school won't be able to trump up academic charges as a reason for expelling him."

Things have changed a lot since the 80s. Not saying there isn't room for improvement.

I stopped reading after the guy described the amount of diuretic as "homosexual." WHO DOES THAT???

An attending in the 80s?

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

The 1980s were 30 years ago. A lot has changed since then. For example, most people are now aware that AIDS isn't an airborne communicable disease that afflicts all homosexuals.

 

[janey243]

The 1980s were 30 years ago. A lot has changed since then. For example, most people are now aware that AIDS isn't an airborne communicable disease that afflicts all homosexuals.

Have things changed so much?

LGBT content in medical education still minimal despite large health disparities (JAMA)
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1104294

"Gay Discrimination Still Exists in Medical Schools" (AAMC)
https://www.aamc.org/newsroom/reporter/archive/87160/july07_discrimination.html

"Discrimination, and the potential for it, still keeps many medical students and residents from being out about their sexual orientation or gender identity." (American Medical Student Association)
http://www.amsa.org/AMSA/Homepage/Publications/TheNewPhysician/2010/0510WaitingtoComeOut.aspx

Gay patients fear discrimination (BBC)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4110316.stm

"Gay man handcuffed, forcibly removed from partner's bedside at Missouri hospital"
http://americablog.com/2013/04/missouri-gay-hospital-visitation-remove-research-medical-center.html

 

[Espadaleader]

Gays and lesbians still have a long way to go to be accepted. Especially in rural America and the south.

 

[Eiot]

The 1980s were 30 years ago. A lot has changed since then. For example, most people are now aware that AIDS isn't an airborne communicable disease that afflicts all homosexuals.

Have things changed so much?

Yep.

 

[occams_razor]

The 1980s were 30 years ago. A lot has changed since then. For example, most people are now aware that AIDS isn't an airborne communicable disease that afflicts all homosexuals.

a lot has changed since then but there's still a long way to go. pretty much all of my LGBT friends have experienced some form of harassment/discrimination/oppression ranging from being kicked out of their homes to getting beaten up in high school to feeling unsafe when with their partner and the list goes on. I've also known people who had very bad experiences with medical providers (mainly the trans people I know). culturally competent care needs to include LGBT folks

anyone else follow this story? http://abcnews.go.com/Health/transgender-bias-now-banned-federal-law

 

[sinombre]

Have things changed so much?

You've done a great job at demonstrating that discrimination and injustice still exist, but this says nothing about the extent to which it has changed over the past 30 years. I'm assuming there's a decent amount of variation with respect to location, but you'd be hard pressed to claim that things haven't changed a significant amount over the past three decades.

 

[tantacles]

It's changed a lot. And yes, there is still disparity.

However, I was pleased that when I mentioned some M2s had made homophobic comments about my boyfriend and me (we're both M1s) holding hands publicly to a neuro professor, she reacted indignantly.

We're forcing homophobia into the closet one jackass at a time.

Clarification: The comments were made to a lesbian in our class and relayed to me through her.

I spoke to the neuro professor about these comments very generally as part of a conversation related to gender stereotypes in parenting (she literally wrote the book on this topic).

 

[sinombre]

It's changed a lot. And yes, there is still disparity.

However, I was pleased that when I mentioned some M2s had made homophobic comments about my boyfriend and me (we're both M1s) holding hands publicly to a neuro professor, she reacted indignantly.

We're forcing homophobia into the closet one jackass at a time.

Don't worry, them MS2s were mirin. Sorry you have to deal with BS like that

 

[yehhhboiii]

It's changed a lot. And yes, there is still disparity.

However, I was pleased that when I mentioned some M2s had made homophobic comments about my boyfriend and me (we're both M1s) holding hands publicly to a neuro professor, she reacted indignantly.

We're forcing homophobia into the closet one jackass at a time.

I'm sorry that you had to deal with that. It sucks to have people discriminate against you for being who you are, especially when they're your future colleagues.

 

[tantacles]

Don't worry, them MS2s were mirin. Sorry you have to deal with BS like that

Oh, I didn't have to deal with it. A lesbian playing rugby with them relayed the comment secondhand, and we laughed at how stupid they are.